Tag Archives: fiction

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some noteworthy reads from the last few weeks:

Why You Can Trust Your Bible despite differences in texts.

The Amalekite Genocide. God’s command to wipe out the Amalekites is used as ammunition against Christianity by atheists and is troublesome to Christians. Here is a thoughtful article about God’s possible reasons for it.

Where does brokenness drive you? I pondered this for a long time after reading it. It’s kind of popular in blogging right now to expose our failings in the name of transparency and lean heavily on grace, and that’s not wrong. I think perhaps it started as a reaction against appearing to have too picture-perfect a life to readers. But do we sometimes wallow in our failures and presume upon grace? We are all broken in some respects, and grace provides for blessed forgiveness, but it doesn’t stop there.

Indispensable. No one is. Beautiful.

21 Spiritual Things to Pray for Other Christians. It’s easy to pray for physical needs, but we sometimes neglect these spiritual needs.

Dear Disillusioned Christian Girl.

Stories That Lead By Example. Sometimes a story explains things better than an explanation. “I believe stories can broaden our empathy, helping us to love. They tell us we’re not alone. But they can also give us something to live up to, whetting our appetite for virtues we don’t yet have.”

To Moms of One or Two Children. Feeling overwhelmed and finding God’s grace sufficient no matter how many you have.

Richard Baxter on Educating Children.

Three Things You Don’t Know About Your Children and Sex. They probably know more than you think they do, and from dangerous sources. This is not a new problem, but the Internet exponentially increases the availability of unwholesome sources of information.

Are we doing the Lord’s work? Questions for web sites set up specifically to expose a leader’s sins.

The 5 Worst Books For Your Children. Interesting thoughts.

23 Signs You’re Secretly an Introvert.

18 Fun Things To Do Before Going Back to School. I think most students have already, but these are still fun ideas.

And something to bring you a smile:

Have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage and Quotes

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Here are a few noteworthy reads from the last week:

How to keep Millennials in the church? Let’s keep church un-cool, written by a Millenial. “What I need is something bigger than me, older than me, bound by a truth that transcends me and a story that will outlast me; basically, something that doesn’t change to fit me and my whims, but changes me to be the Christ-like person I was created to be.”

Is Glory God’s Only Goal?

When you think your love story is boring. It’s not like in the movies: it’s better.

The Courage to Keep Going. Another benefit of stories. Especially like the third paragraph from the bottom.

A Fleshy Assessment: Ten Questions to Ask Yourself. Convicting.

And a couple of quotes that have inspired me:

Every new duty calls for more grace than I now possess, but not more than is found in Thee, the divine treasury in whom all fullness dwells. To Thee I repair for grace upon grace, until every void made by sin be replenished and I am filled with all Thy fullness. ~Valley of Vision

“If, thinking of your frailty, you hold yourselves cheap, value yourselves by the price that was paid for you.” ~ Augustine

“Sometimes God doesn’t change your situation because He’s trying to change your heart.” Unknown

Have a great weekend!

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some thought-provoking reads from the last couple of weeks:

Just Obey. Why grace-focused, gospel-centered churches and individuals don’t need to shy away from the word or the concept.

On Loneliness: A Letter to My Children. Poignant.

Ordinary Christians and a Great Commission. “So many of today’s bestselling Christian books…tell us we ought to live extraordinary lives, crazy and above-and-beyond lives. Some of these authors tacitly (or even blatantly) suggest that ordinary must be synonymous with apathetic and that all these comparative and superlative terms–this-er, that-er–are synonymous with godly. But when I look to the Bible I just don’t see it.”

Embrace Sufferer’s For the Things They Offer You rather than avoiding them in fear.

Faith in Fiction – the need for it, and for current examples of it.

Why Story Warren. “This feeling of –incredibly, out of nowhere– finding an ally in the struggle of our lives, is unforgettable. Even in a tale…How sweet it is when we discover a story, a record, a movie, or a play where our kids are seeing the very best of truth, beauty, and goodness. We see the truth we are longing for them to latch on to neither subverted, nor sanitized to death, but upheld. We feel there is someone on our side. It’s not a minefield; it’s the cavalry!” Just discovered this site yesterday and have had fun poking around. Janet, I think you’d like it.

Why I Don’t Drink.

Fruit of the Spirit Resources for Children’s Ministry, HT to Annette, who created a resource of her own as well. I’ve started studying the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians and want to look into some of these for my own information.

Looking Forward to the Reward. We can feel it is not quite right to serve God with thought of reward, but God tells us about rewards for a reason.

8 Ways to Just Keep Writing.

A Daily Dose of Faith for Writers. Love the opening quote about Jan Karon’s portrayal of Father Tim’s “everyday faith.”

And my book-loving friends will agree with this, HT to Carrie:

Books

Hope you have a great weekend!